Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Are you sleeping, can you hear meDo you know if I am by your sideDoes it matter if you hear meWhen the morning comes I'll be there by your side.-- Harry Nilsson, "Are You Sleeping" (1971)

The presence of Bernville, PA-born, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter Priscilla Ahn on Blue Note makes perfect sense. While she isn't cut from the same cloth as label superstar Norah Jones—jazz plays no obvious role in her repertoire—she works, to keep the seamstress analogy going, with comparable fabric (like, say, the botanical prints of Britain's Liberty mills).

A Good Day may be a sin-gular affair, but it has moreof a paisley-pop vibe thanthat of your average solo performer. "Masters of Chi-na," for instance, recallsHarry Nilsson's "Are You Sleeping" (from The Point), while "Astronaut" exudes a similar Beatles-meet-Nilsson spirit with carnival-esque ambiance and multi-tracked "ah's." (The credits cite Ursula Knudson on mus-ical saw and the Bird and the Bee's Greg Kurstin on keyboards.)

This isn't to suggest that A Good Day comes on like a full band effort, but rather that Ahn isn't simply setting confessional words to acoustic melodies (not that there's any shame in that game).On a few tracks, like "A Dream" and "Red Cape," however, she slides down the slippery slope into adult contemporary territory. That's always a danger with this kind of music—the lines between mellow and easy listening become blurry (the fault lies with unadventur-ous melodies and fuller production rather than prosaic lyrics).

At this point, it's worthnoting that Ahn has tour-ed with Joshua Radin, Sara Bareilles, and Jones assoc-iate Jesse Harris, who ply a more commercial versionof a similar folk-pop sound.

Produced by Joey Waronker, who captures every nuance of her liquid soprano, A Good Day introduces an appealing talent, but Ahn is at her bestwhen she sounds most like herself. Some degree of overlapwith associates is to be expected, but on songs like the inti-mate "Wallflower," she makes the most vivid impression ("Noone sees me / please excuse me"). Of course, she may be speak-ing as a fictional character rather than from direct experience,but role-playing sometimes yields the most true-to-life results.

The more predictable selections may garner greater attentionand/or radio play, but they make less of an emotional impact.The more Ahn reveals, the more compelling her work becomes.

Endnote:For more information about Priscilla Ahn,please click here. Images from Issho and Ahn's MySpacePage (photographers: Henry Diltz and John D. Fox III).Oh, and everyone should own a copy of The Point.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

March into the Muck

Outkast's André 3000 and Big Boi

The Dreamscapes Proj-ect, Pity in a Heartbeat, Figmental Records[5/6/08]

It's beyond me why anyband would want to sound like an acoustic version of Live, but there you go. The thing is, Washington DC's Keith Center isn't as accomplished a singer as Ed Kowalczyk, but he projects just as much "passion" and "intensity." The quotation marks are be-cause he delivers his lyrics like a musical theater performer.

That doesn't mean he isn't sincere, but there's a difference betweenbeing in touch with your emotions, and knowing how to expressthem most effectively. What may have begun as heartfelt getsburied beneath layers of artifice. The result: insincerity. To quotethe band's "Food for Thought," It's like "a deer wrapped in a tissue." Cross-posted at Fuzz.com.

Juniper Lane, Wake from Yourself, DJ Boy

The Washington Post describes this DC quartet's music as"polished, radio-ready rock." Most reviews go on to compareJuniper Lane with U2 and Coldplay (alas, the Arlington Connection lumps the Irish U2 in with other "British bands").

It's true, all true. Singer/songwriter/keyboard player VivionSmith has a healthy set of lungs and a Pat Benatar-like range,but this stuff is as slick as it is familiar. On their third full-length,the foursome sounds like Evanescence and dozens of other dark-tinged female-fronted AOR acts. But much less interesting.

The third album from Boston's [munk]appears on his indie imprint, but it's a major label recording in all but name (his songs have featured in TV shows, online promos, video games, and other commercial enterprises).

Entering the scene like a factory-stamped product of the cor-porate machine, [munk]trades in a combination of musicaland lyrical clichés. Like Center, he may have poured his heartinto this thing—note the ever-present catch in voice—but he doesn't have anything original to say, and he's chosen a partic-ularly tired means by which to say it, i.e. over-enunciated modernrock. Bonus points for the revealing liner notes. Otherwise: pass.

Note: I received a message from [munk] thanking me for my review, even though it isn't positive. Now I really wish I liked his CD more. Good manners are in short supply on the Web. Kudos to [munk] for his graciousness and understanding.

Endnote: I'm not opposed to mainstream music, and own sever-al platinum-selling albums, like Outkast'sSpeakerboxxx/The LoveBelow and ELO's Out of the Blue, to name two examples, but bothoutfits have a distinctive sound. Further, their records don't allsound alike, and yet, when you hear their music, you know it'sthem. The same can't be said about the groups above, even thoughthey released their material themselves. Sometimes, "indepen-dent" is just a label classification. For more information aboutJuniper Lane, please click here or here; for The Dreamscap-es Project, here or here; for[munk], here or here. Outkastimage from Critical Acclaim, ELO from the All Music Guide.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I took the following pictures at several different First Fridays, circa 2004-2006. The location: Wallingford's Blue Star Café. FFis a long-running monthly opportunity for Seattle film writers and friends to eat, drink, gossip, kvetch, commiserate, and exchange and/or purge DVDs, CDs, and printed materials. Oh yeah, and to drink. Note that my weapon of choice is a disposable black and white camera, so the photo quality is a little...interesting.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

I had this idea that I'd take a bunch of songs by well-known R&B performers and do rock versions of them for the fourth Dirtbombs album," Collins says. "But when Greg Cart-wright[of the Oblivions, Compulsive Gamblers and current-ly, Reigning Sound] played me Phil Lynott's "Ode to a Black Man"[from the late Thin Lizzy frontman's solo album, So-lo in Soho], I said, 'I have to record this song before some-body else beats me to it!' And in order to record that song, I had to do the entire rest of the album around it. So Ultraglidein Black came second, when it was supposed to be fourth.

I love it that Lynott inspired this project. I had no idea. It was, in fact, 2001's Ultraglide in Black that led me to pick up 1980's Solo in Soho. The latter isn't a complete success (Mark Knopfler'slimpid guitar playing sounds out of place), but "Ode to a Black Man" is a great song. So is Lynott's punk-rock tribute "Talk in '79."And here's a bit aboutthe history of the band:

MT [Metro Times] contributor and former Dirtbomb Chris Handyside remembers the show[the group's first gig] starting with Mick introduc-ing the band as "Two black guys, a Jew, a Mick and a Newfie walk into a bar and the bartender says ‘What is this? Some kind of joke?' No, it's the Dirtbombs." However, a live recording from the show reveals Mick's intro as: "Not only do we suck … we're loud!"

Frankly, this is the kind of article that makes me question my very existence. Seriously. Over the years, I've reviewed count-less Collins records, interviewed the man, and played his musicon the radio, but I could never sum up the mega-faceted singer/songwriter/guitarist as brilliantly as writer Michael Hurtt does in his epic feature. It's a must-read for anyone interested in Motor City rock from the 1980s to the '00s—even for those who aren't down with the Dirtbombs, the Detroit Cobras, or the White Stripes (although that certainly wouldn't hurt).

Endnote:Ultraglide in Black's "Chains of Love" appears—twice!—in Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Accordingto the band's bio, they've also sold one of their songs to...wait forit...Wal-Mart. And yet, Hurtt notes that Collins still lives at homewith his dad. Frankly, the guy could use a little coin. To quoteDVD Verdict, by way of the US judicial system: Not guilty.

Endnote: I'm included among the thank-you's in the re-vised edition of Bob Cumbow's The Films of Sergio Leone(along with a number of other friends and associates). It'san honor to be associated with either gentleman. Speakingof fistfuls, Rhino's Ennio Morricone anthology is subtitledA Fistful of Film Music; more recently, Seth Gordon sub-titled his King of Kong doc, A Fistful of Quarters. Imagesfrom Britannica Junior Encyclopaedia and Movieposter.com.

Saturday, March 01, 2008

(Dawning of a) New Era

Dub Pistols, Speakers and Tweeters, Defend Music Inc.[5/6/08] In theory, I'm all over this album. Reality is another story. It's not that I dislike the music; it's that the concept is more compelling than the creation.

Take Lily Allen, for example. The petite potty-mouth created something new and exciting out of her love for Blondie and the Specials—to say nothing of X-Ray Spex and Wreckless Eric.

The third full-length from these fellow Londoners features acover of Blondie's "Rapture," vocals from Terry Hall of the Specials, and a more up-to-the-minute approach than its predecessors (thanks to the hiphop and techno touches).

The Pistols also take on"Gangsters" (the Specials),"Peaches" (the Stranglers),and "You'll Never Find" (LouRawls). Hall, incidentally,sounds just as dreamy on"Rapture" as on the Fun BoyThree version of "Our LipsAre Sealed" (on which his triowere joined by Bananarama).

The parade of non-originals gives the impression that Speakers and Tweeters is an '80s tribute album or greatest hits collection. As such, it's pretty good—despite the scarcity of dub promised by their name (at least until "Stronger" rolls around). I guess I just have impossibly high standards when it comes to certain genres, like ska and two tone. In fact, this disc would serve as a swell par-ty record, and to quote Heart, I bet these guys kick it out live.

Seattle's Voyager One have found what works, and they're sticking to it. The duo's modus operandi is a stripped-down,post-millenial take on shoegaze. If their fourth full-length is less memorable than Spiritualized's first, Lazer Guided Melodies—to name one possible influence—they share the same sonic space.

Peter Marchese even sings asif he were born in Britain, al-though that isn't to suggest an affectation on his part; shoe-gaze vocalists often evoke England no matter their country of origin. It's one of the qualities that distinguishes the subgenre from post-rock, which isn't as closely associated withthe UK (and where vocals are submerged or reduced even further).

Marchese and Jeramy Koepping both handle guitars, keys, andprogramming. Aside from vocals, the multi-talented Marcheseadds bass and drums to the mix. Guest musicians supply the restof the sounds. Afterhours in the Afterlife is recommendedto fans of Spiritualized, the Dandy Warhols, and tour mates BlackRebel Motorcycle Club, whose influence can be felt most keenlyon "The Future Is Obsolete," which rocks harder than the rest.

If you've been missing Ride and thinking that solo Rich-ard Ashcroft doesn't quite measure up to Verve (or ev-en U.N.K.L.E.)—Voyager One should cure what ails you. The locals have taken the old shoegazermobile out of the garage, dusted it off, and slapped on a new coat of paint. And they certainly aren't trying to pretend they've never heard any British bands from the 1980s and '90s—as if their sound just somehow sprung from out of the air—because they take on Echo and the Bunnymen's delightfully ridiculous "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo." The lyrics are as silly as ever ("Bed-knobs and Broomsticks" anyone?), but musically, it's always been one of the Bunnymen's best, and Voyager One give it their own distinctive spin by slowing it down and stretching it out into a nifty new shape.

About Me

I write about popular music and film and the relationship between the two. I'm Irish on one side, Italian on the other—British on both. I was born in Connecticut (Far From Heaven), raised in Alaska (Northern Exposure), and I've lived in Seattle, WA (Trouble in Mind) since 1988.